


if you catch my drift

by captainquint



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Pacific Rim AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 13:56:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7535443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainquint/pseuds/captainquint
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caleb had always trusted the ocean and the creatures within it. It felt like a second home to him, a second family out there on the water.</p>
<p>Christ, was he wrong.</p>
<p>The ocean can produce horrible things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	if you catch my drift

**Author's Note:**

> hey!! this is just a random pacific rim au, read it as you please

A common misconception about Alaska is that it’s freezing all the time.

It’s not.

Well, not in the summer, at least. And definitely not in Juneau.  
Caleb always loved summers on the coast. Summer meant spending the days out with his dad on the boat, taking tourists to see the whales (humpback, specifically). He always loved the whales best, Caleb didn’t really know why. His mother had always said if he could jump in the water and join them, he would. Maybe it was the sheer size of them, just the grace of the way something 50 feet long and 80,000 pounds could move in the water. It was humbling to say the least, but in a good way.

At the end of a long day, he’d flop back into bed with his little plushie whale and read under the covers with a flashlight. God, there was so much to learn about the world! About everything! But mostly marine biology. That was his specialty.

Caleb had always trusted the ocean and the creatures within it. It felt like a second home to him, a second family out there on the water.

Christ, was he wrong.

The ocean can produce horrible things.

He was 14 years old when the first attack hit San Francisco.

He was 15 years old when the fifth attack hit Juneau.

He remembered the destruction, the pure chaos of it all. Everyone screaming, crying, running for their lives. As if running would even help. The thing could probably do a mile in one step, two if it jumped. 

This was no humpback whale.

Caleb remembered the ground shaking so hard it felt like you were a toy some toddler thought was new and interesting. Tossing from side to side helplessly. The jets were the loudest part of it all, whizzing overhead and constantly bombarding the monster that was crushing boats under its feet like they were Legos. Only Legos hurt when you step on them, and it didn’t even seem fazed.

Then suddenly, a mass of metal stepped into the proverbial ring. It rose to its full height, machinery whirring and squeaking. The sound of its arm hitting the monster right in the side was deafening, reverberating through what felt like the whole city. Buildings shook and debris rained as Caleb dove into a back alleyway, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to block everything out.

This wasn’t happening.

Caleb had found his parents in the aftermath of it all, they were closer to the shore than he was when the creature finally bit it. Maybe too close. They were immediately quarantined in the hospital, or what was left of the hospital. Kaiju Blue is what they were calling it. Something in the corpse was toxic and poisoning those closest to the scene. For the next month they laid there coughing and hacking, weakening. Caleb tried to visit when he could, but he wasn’t allowed anywhere near for containment purposes.

It was Caleb’s 16th birthday when his parents passed away, together.

The following week he boarded a plane to Long Island, to go and live with an uncle he’d never even heard of, much less met before.

The only luggage he carried with him was a bent and faded photo of him and his parents and a small stuffed humpback whale.

He didn’t want to remember anything else about his home.

***

Caleb yawned, feeling his ears pop as he stepped off the plane. A short, frail man was waiting for him out in the gates, holding a sign that read “CALEB!!!” with the three exclamation points included. Caleb squared his shoulders and walked over, stopping a few steps in front of the man.

“So… you must be Lucas-”

Lucas cut him short, enveloping him in a tight hug.

“You are such a brave, strong young man. We are going to get through this together, I promise. I know you never asked for any of this, but we will make things work. If there’s anything I can do for you, anything at all, just ask.”

Caleb shimmied away from the hug, adjusting his zip-up hoodie.

“Uh, I’m kinda hungry. I could go for some McDonald’s?”

Lucas cocked his head slightly then cleared his throat, nodding. “Of course, of course. Get whatever you want, anything you want.” He pressed a $20 into Caleb’s hand and pointed him in the direction of the airport McDonald’s stand.

Caleb shoved the cash in his pocket and walked off, trying to ignore the blaring of various news stations on TVs around the gates.

“The death toll is rising due to the difficult to contain illness now known publicly as ‘Kaiju Blue’-”

“Juneau, in the wake of destruction-”

“Thousands are fleeing the city, and swarms of people are attempting to relocate inland-”

“Brawler Yukon, the first Jaeger to see action from the newly established Jaeger Program along with the Pan Pacific Defense Corps, took down the monster-”

Jaegers.

Stupid fucking Jaegers.

Jaegers could kiss Caleb’s ass, for all he cared. What was the goddamn point of a giant robot guardian angel if all it caused was more damage? That thing supposed to save lives. Yeah, great job.

Caleb slammed the cash down on the counter of the McDonald’s station with a little more force than was entirely necessary.

“Large fries and a Coke, please.”

He may be a traumatized teenager, but he was still polite.

After a few minutes, and half a Coke later, Lucas had caught up to him.

“So, you have any luggage?”

“No.”

“None at all?”

“Nope.”

Lucas sighed, “Well, then we’ll have to pick up some new clothes and such for you before school starts up next week. Can’t have you wearing just this all the time!” Lucas attempted a chuckle.

Caleb didn’t laugh.

And he didn’t speak.

The entire car ride back to Lucas’ place from the airport was absolute silence. Caleb stared out the window and watched Long Island roll by him. He was so far from home, so far from everything he ever knew. But he guessed there wasn’t much left of his home anyway. Might as well get over it. Might as well move on.

Caleb felt a lump in his throat forming and a stinging in the corners of his eyes. He pulled the whale plushie from the pocket of his hoodie and hugged it to his chest, leaning against the car window. The tears were coming faster now, and harder.

For once, Lucas didn’t say anything. He didn’t speak up, or offer words of comfort, or try to make any kind of conversation to distract him.

He just drove.

And Caleb cried.


End file.
